There is currently a giant octopus on the back of a ‘broken down’ hire van in the middle of Oxford Street, London.

I called the number on the side of the van – as I’ve been told 4 national newspapers also did – and the guy at Roman Self Drive confirmed that the octopus is indeed a part of a World Cup campaign. No doubt related to Paul the Octopus, who gained fame during the 2010 World Cup for his ability to ‘predict’ the outcome of the football matches.

I asked who was behind the stunt – which has started spreading around Twitter like wildfire – and the guy said he’d call me back as he wasn’t sure he was allowed to say. He then spoke to the delivery driver, whose number I was given. I spoke to him and he mentioned he was delivering the octopus to bookmaker Betfair, who are behind the stunt.

Here’s an image tweeted by Transport for London:

I also questioned as to whether or not the breaking down was part of the campaign – hey, you never know – and he said ‘definitely not, and I’d like to apologise to all who’ve been affected by it’. What a nice bloke.

Betfair has also apologised for bringing London to a standstill:

We’d like to apologise for any inconvenience that has been caused by the breakdown this morning at Oxford Circus. While transporting a (1/2)